This figure shows a surge in seizures of illegal vapes, as seizures increased by 44% when compared to 2023.
This revelation comes ahead of the government’s impending ban on single-use vapes coming into effect on 1st June 2025.
London contributed to nearly half (47%) of all illegal vape seizures in England that year, according to Freedom of Information requests submitted by Vape Club.
Hillingdon, the home of Heathrow Airport, has been labelled by The Vape Club as “the UK’s gateway for illegal vapes. The number of illegal vape seizures in Hillingdon accounted for 40% of the UK’s total in 2024.
The UK’s top 5 illegal vape hotspots
London Borough of Hillingdon – 484,954 (+116.06%)
Essex County Council – 333,600 (+14,199.19%)
Liverpool City Council – 29,180 (+48.7%)
Manchester City Council – 26,007 (-83.59%)
Lancashire County Council – 21,501 (-54.01%)
Nationwide, two illegal vapes were seized every minute in 2024, totalling about £9 million worth removed from the streets.
108 retailers were given premises closure orders concerning illegal vape operations – over double that of 2023.
How to identify illegal vapes
Illegal vapes are unregulated devices with unknown ingredients, often containing significantly higher nicotine levels. They can be hard to identify. Tell-tale signs include:
Vapes without the correct health or nicotine warnings
Poor quality packaging with low-resolution photos or labels
Vapes with a tank size larger than 2ml
Vapes with a nicotine strength greater than 20mg/ml
Vapes without a UK address or labelling in a foreign language
Untested vapes that haven’t been sufficiently safety checked
Vapes without full ingredient lists displayed on packaging
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HeadlineFOI Requests Reveal Over 500,000 Illegal Vapes Seized in London in 2024
Short HeadlineLondon Vape Seizures Surge Past 500,000
StandfirstFreedom of Information requests submitted to all London boroughs have uncovered that illegal vape seizures totalled 503,498 in 2024.
This figure shows a surge in seizures of illegal vapes, as seizures increased by 44% when compared to 2023.
This revelation comes ahead of the government’s impending ban on single-use vapes coming into effect on 1st June 2025.
London contributed to nearly half (47%) of all illegal vape seizures in England that year, according to Freedom of Information requests submitted by Vape Club.
Hillingdon, the home of Heathrow Airport, has been labelled by The Vape Club as “the UK’s gateway for illegal vapes. The number of illegal vape seizures in Hillingdon accounted for 40% of the UK’s total in 2024.
The UK’s top 5 illegal vape hotspots
London Borough of Hillingdon – 484,954 (+116.06%)
Essex County Council – 333,600 (+14,199.19%)
Liverpool City Council – 29,180 (+48.7%)
Manchester City Council – 26,007 (-83.59%)
Lancashire County Council – 21,501 (-54.01%)
Nationwide, two illegal vapes were seized every minute in 2024, totalling about £9 million worth removed from the streets.
108 retailers were given premises closure orders concerning illegal vape operations – over double that of 2023.
How to identify illegal vapes
Illegal vapes are unregulated devices with unknown ingredients, often containing significantly higher nicotine levels. They can be hard to identify. Tell-tale signs include:
Vapes without the correct health or nicotine warnings
Poor quality packaging with low-resolution photos or labels
Vapes with a tank size larger than 2ml
Vapes with a nicotine strength greater than 20mg/ml
Vapes without a UK address or labelling in a foreign language
Untested vapes that haven’t been sufficiently safety checked
Vapes without full ingredient lists displayed on packaging
